POCO F1 128GB Now Available For Just Rs 20,999 For Limited Time

Limited period all-time low price offer on POCO F1 128GB at Flipkart.com.

The launch of Andy - the ArtBot (AD)

Meitu made a huge step in A.I. to make the world a more beautiful place.

Meitu Inc., publisher of the world renowned photo-editing app Meitu, is dedicated to the pursuit of beauty around the world. For almost 10 years, Meitu has been an innovator of apps that generate 6 billion photos per month globally. Today, Meitu managed to expand its expertise to Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and created its first ever A.I. painting robot - Andy, the ArtBot.

Review: Xiaomi Mi 4

Xiaomi Mi 4

Price: Rs 20,000 (Flipkart.com)

After taking the Indian mobile market by storm by starting a trend of offering mobile phones with premium features at affordable prices, Xiaomi has offered the Mi 4, which is basically upping the ante from the hugely successful Mi 3. This high-end phone features a Snapdragon quad-core CPU with 3 GB RAM, 5” Full HD IPS screen, and 13 MP camera with up to 4K video recording. Xiaomi has been generous enough to send across a review unit, therefore, a review was in order. Do the high-end specs really translate into a pleasant smartphone experience? Read on.

Review: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G

Price: Rs 10,000 (Flipkart.com)
Xiaomi has for long had a policy of selling only one handset at a time in India, probably to prevent cannibalisation within its own camp. The company has discontinued the Redmi Note a week ago, but is now selling its replacement – Redmi Note 4G, along with the smaller and previously discontinued Redmi 1S, probably because it seems to have realised that these are two completely different devices at different price points for different demographics and will not hinder the sale of one another. The phablet Redmi Note 4G may look the same as the Redmi Note, but the internals are different. While the older model was a dual SIM handset with a MediaTek octo-core CPU, the newer model has a single SIM but with 4G capability, and features a quad-core Snapdragon CPU. At a price point of Rs 10,000, which is a thousand rupees more than the previous version, let’s find out if the Redmi Note 4G is really worth the extra premium. Please note that this review may appear like a copy-paste of the Redmi Note review, because it is partially true, where the two devices have the same features.

Lenovo A6000 Coming Very Soon To India For Rs 8000 (Photos and Video)

Lenovo has just showcased its A6000 smartphone at CES and it is already slated to be launched in India within a week from now. This is a budget handset with powerful specs, going along the lines of Xiaomi and the recent Yu Yureka. This dual SIM handset sports a 5” display and is just 7.99 mm thick, making it easy to handle or carry in your pocket. It is also quite lightweight for its size at just 128 grams.

Review: Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9” 32 GB, Wi-Fi (2013 edition)

Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9” 32 GB, Wi-Fi (2013 edition)

 

MRP: Rs 36,000 (eBay.in)

Amazon is known for its humungous e-books store and also for its amazing Kindle brand of e-book readers. With the advent of Android tablets, the company also felt the pressure to introduce an Android-based Kindle tablet known as the Kindle Fire, which broke away from the traditional concept of e-ink screen. It did well and that's why the company later introduced the Kindle Fire HD and HDX in two screen sizes having more pixels for crisper text and images. Until now, the Kindle Fire HDX was not available in India, and Amazon has still not officially launched it here. But thanks to eBay.in, it is now possible for us to buy in local currency without having to worry about customs hassles. Let's take a look at whether this is really worth the extra bucks.

 

Review: Xiaomi Redmi Note

Xiaomi Redmi Note

Price: Rs 9000

Xiaomi was probably not contenpt with its successes with the Mi3 and Redmi 1S in recent times. Now it has come up with a phablet – Redmi Note. The Redmi Note looks like a scaled-up version of the Redmi 1S. It sports a 5.5” HD IPS display and is powered by an Octa-Core processor from MediaTek supported by 2 GB RAM. This dual-SIM device promises great performance in an affordable price. Let’s find out if it can really do what it claims.

Review: Xiaomi Redmi 1S - Brace for the second assault

Xiaomi Redmi 1S
Price: Rs 6000 (Available soon Flipkart.com)

 

Xiaomi, now known as China's answer to Apple, has got a new ace up its sleeve for India - the Redmi 1S. After its earlier onslaught via the hugely successful Mi3, the Chinese manufacturer has planned to launch the brand new dual-SIM smartphone in a bid to capture the low-end segment. Yet again, the company promises high-end hardware and performance at an unrivalled pricing. I got to try my hands on the new handset before its launch to find out whether the numbers on paper really translate to good real life performance. Read on for the review.

  

Review: Xiaomi Mi 3 - Finally, Premium Smartphone At Budget Pricing

Xiaomi Mi 3
Price: Rs 14,000 (Flipkart.com)

The smartphone market is probably the most varied today, when it comes to the sheer number of mobile phones and models by various manufacturers, each trying to up the ante in face of competition. In a budget market such as India, price is considered to be the driving force for sales of any product, and the mobile phone is not an exception. The Chinese manufacturer, Xiaomi, which had taken China by storm last year with its Xiaomi Mi 3 Android smartphone with high-end specs, registering record sales, has finally turned its attention to one of the most lucrative markets - India. The phone has been finally launched in India at an attractive price of Rs 14,000. Some of the high-end features of the phone includes a Snapdragon quad-core CPU with 2 GB RAM, 5" Full HD IPS screen, and 13 MP camera with Full HD recording. Xiaomi has been generous enough to send across a review unit, therefore, a review was in order. Do the high-end specs really translate into a pleasant smartphone experience? Read on.

Infographics Shows The Rise Of Windows Phone Platform

When Microsoft first introduced its new mobile phone platform in 2010 - Windows Phone 7, it was met with mixed response. Enthusiasts praised it for its innovative and fresh look and design, while critics criticized it for not bringing enough to the plate and even going so far as to predict its failure. However, it is now 2014 with the new iteration Windows Phone 8.1, and the platform has seen a steady growth, aiming to compete against the big guns Android and iOS. Microsoft's collaboration with Nokia in bringing out great quality Windows Phone products across different price ranges, has played a contributing factor in this success as analysts are expecting the WP OS to cross 100 million devices this year and become the 3rd largest mobile OS worldwide. In fact, Windows Phone has already been outselling the iPhone in 24 markets including India, Malaysia, South Africa, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.

MobiKwik Celebrates 1 Million Android App Downloads By Giving Away 1 Million Rupees

MobiKwik, the service that lets you pay almost any utility bill or recharge mobile phones and DTH services, has crossed 1 million downloads of its Android app within a year of its launch. The service, which is also available via a web browser, SMS, and phone, is quite popular in the form of apps for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone devices. In order to celebrate this milestone achievement, the company is rewarding its users by giving away 10% cash back for transactions carried out via its Android app. It has actually allocated 1 million rupees for this purpose to ensure that the cash back really happens as intended. Users can avail this offer by using the promo code MILLIONCLUB. The last date of this offer is 31st December, 2013.

Amazon India Slashes Kindle Fire HD 8.9" Prices By Rs 4000

Amazon India has announced a cut in the pricing of its flagship eBook reader - Kindle Fire HD 8.9". The 16 GB version now costs Rs 18,000 as against the earlier 22,000, while the 32 GB variant is available for Rs 22,000 down from the earlier Rs 26,000. At the new price-point, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9" will become a really attractive option for consumers because of its superior capabilities as an Android tablet, in addition to being a formidable eBook reader.

VU Shows Off World's First Customisable Luxury TVs In India

VU held India's first Television Trunk Show in Mumbai today to show off the world's first customisable luxury televisions. The event was held at the Four Season's hotels at Worli and I was invited. The company showcased its 50", 55", 65", and 84" LED-backlit LCD TVs, of which the 84" is the recently launched 3D model sporting Ultra HD or 4K panel with 3840x2160 pixels. Of course, there were also smaller screen models with touch screen just to take a look. The purpose of the event was to allow consumers and reviewers to not only get up, close, and personal with the various VU TV models, but also avail the one-day-only discounted price offers such as a 50" LED TV free on purchase of the 84" model.

Micromax Teases New Canvas Turbo A250 Flagship Handset

Micromax seems to be preparing to launch a new flagship smartphone - Canvas Turbo A250. According to a tweet by its deemed official insider MMXNewxcaster, the A250 will be the company's first smartphone with a Full HD screen. It is also mentioned that this will feature a quad-core CPU, which is obvious by its flagship status. The tweet doesn't even show any photo of the phone itself, but rather just the stylised name itself.

align="center" Micromax Canvas Turbo A250 to be the First Full HD (1080p) phone from Micromax. To sport Quad Core processor. #News pic.twitter.com/eNrcKmNJtG
— @MMXNewscaster (@MMXNewscaster) October 6, 2013

Samsung Continues Its Large Screen March With The GALAXY Note 3

While the sane techies may criticise Samsung for its increasing screen sizes in mobile devices, the Korean manufacturer prefers to listen to the majority who want such screens and continues its march by launching the GALAXY Note 3. The new smartphone boasts of a 5.7" Full HD Super AMOLED multi-touch display that should be a treat to view due to its high pixel density of 388 ppi. Despite its large screen size, the device is just 8.3 mm in thickness and weighs 168 grams, which is just about the same as most smartphones today. It is powered by an 8-core Exynos 5 Octa chip (1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 and 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU with ARM Mali T628MP6 GPU) with 3 GB RAM that should provide enough firepower for the most demanding tasks today.

The Note 3 looks better than its predecessor with a faux metallic bezel and a plastic leather rear cover with faux stitching. It has a 13 MP rear camera capable of recording 1080p@60fps and even 4K@30fps. With 32 GB of internal storage, there is a microSD slot to add up to an additional 64 GB. It supports USB OTG with the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard, thus becoming the first smartphone to support this interface for faster data transfers with compatible devices. A 3200 mAh battery is present for power backup. Here are the specifications:

• Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), Google Play
• 2G (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 3G (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz), Micro-SIM 
• 5.7" Super AMOLED capacitive multi-touch screen with pixel dimensions of 1080x1920 (386 ppi) 
• Exynos 5 Octa chip (quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 and quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU with ARM Mali T628MP6 GPU) 
• 3 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, Up to 64 GB via microSDXC 
• 13 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, autofocus, 1080p@30fps and 2160p@30fps 
• 2 megapixel front camera with 1080p@30fps 
• Wi-Fi with hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Infrared, micro-USB 3.0 with OTG 
• 3.5 mm audio jack, GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS 
• Accelerometer, Gyrometer, Proximity, Compass, Barometer, Temperature, Humidity, Gesture 
• 3200 mAh Li-Ion battery

On the software front, the smartphone comes with Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) cloaked by Samsung's TouchWiz UI. Being a Note class of device, it comes with a stylus that automatically launches the Air Command menu once it is removed from its compartment. There are pen-oriented features such as Action Memos (something similar to sticky notes, but using handwriting recognition), Pen Window, Screen Write annotation tool, S Finder, and Scrapbook. It retains the multi-window functionality that has been enhanced to support more apps. Additionally, it can run multiple instances of a single app (thus you can log into multiple instances of an IM client using different IDs from the same device simultaneously) and you can drag and drop content between apps A My Magazine news aggregator app comes preinstalled to keep you updated with the latest happenings around. It also comes with a 1-year subscription for Evernote Premium.

Samsung provides security to the phone with its KNOX application that allows users to store security-sensitive apps and data inside a secure "container". There is also a Find My Mobile feature that allows users to disable the device if it is stolen or lost. This prevents even factory reset of such a disabled device, while the user can still remotely track or erase the data if necessary. With the Indian market in mind, the smartphone comes with support for 11 regional languages including Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya and Assamese. The Samsung GALAXY Note 3 comes for a whopping Rs 49,900. Probably as a consolation, Samsung bundles freebies worth Rs 15,000 with the smartphone, which include preloaded apps and a wide range of services that can be accessed through a special zone called Content Gifts. Also, Note 3 customers on Vodafone network will be able to avail 2 GB of 2G internet per month for two months. The smartphone will be available from 25 September 2013 and can be pre-booked on the Samsung mobile e-Store right away.

Is It Time For Wearable Android Devices? Samsung Thinks So With Its GALAXY Gear Smartwatch

It wasn't just the GALAXY Note 3 that was announced by Samsung; the company also launched its much awaited GALAXY Gear smartwatch in India as a companion accessory. This new concept device is wearable like a watch and normally displays time and weather info, but is actually a gadget that will pair with an Android device to notify the user about incoming texts, emails, and calls with quick previews. Samsung is advertising it to be able to extend the GALAXY Note 3 experience, but it should technically work with any other Android device, at least from Samsung, just as well. Here are the specifications:

• Android
• 1.63" Super AMOLED screen with pixel dimensions of 320x320
• 800 MHz Exynos CPU, ARM Mali-400 MP4 GPU (210 MHz/500 MHz)
• 512 MB RAM, 4 GB internal storage
• 1.9 megapixel camera on wrist band
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
• 3-axis accelerometer, Gyroscope
• 315 mAh battery with up to 25 hours backup

The gizmo looks somewhat larger than a regular wristwatch with its 1.63" Super AMOLED screen. It is powered by an 800 MHz Exynos CPU with 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of storage. There is even a 1.9 mp camera along with Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Wi-Fi, an accelerometer and gyroscope. The 315 mAh battery is advertised to be able to provide up to 25 hours of backup. The Samsung GALAXY Gear is priced at Rs 22,900, which puts it beyond reach for most aspirants. While I am still a long way from being ready to wear such a large and expensive watch, for those of you who still want to give it a shot, the smartwatch will be available in India from 25 September 2013.